The Second Half of the Battle
by Miratete
Summary: Liz had gotten the worst of it, having gotten perhaps a bit too close to the forest god's remains, lured in by the beauty of the garden that had suddenly sprung up in the wake of its defeat. But at the time, none of them had suspected or even known that the mesmerizing, faintly glowing spores would have such a strange effect on anyone who came in contact with them.
1. Chapter 1

**The Second Half of the Battle**

-o-o-o-o-o-

 **After watching Hellboy II: The Golden Army, I couldn't find any fics that addressed this all too obvious opportunity. So I wrote one. Warning: light smut and heavy fluff ahead.**

-o-o-o-o-o-

As they sat in the back of the garbage truck, Agent North stitched up some of the worst of Hellboy's gashes sustained in the fight with the troll and then the forest god, or the "plant monster" as most people were calling it.

Liz leaned on Hellboy's shoulder, kissing his closest ear and massaging his neck. "Please, girl. Not here in front of the others," he complained when her hands slipped under his shirt. Her mood had taken a strange hundred and eighty degree turn since the end of the battle and the subsequent confrontation with the local populace.

"Oh, they don't mind, do they?" she asked, winking at the three others.

"I don't," said North, who had finished with needle and thread and was now bandaging up the big man.

"See?" Liz asked silkily. "And it's a long ride home, you know."

"No, go right ahead," North continued. "You don't mind if I watch, do you?"

"Want to help out?" she asked him, her arms wrapping about the red demon.

Agent North was about to reply positively, but the sudden angry glare she received from Hellboy cautioned against it. "Liz? What's with you? Just worried I wasn't going to make it? You know some overgrown garden gnome and a rampant compost heap aren't going to do me in."

"Just feeling ...needy," she explained, pushing her lips against his.

"Needy?" he asked, his lips still connected with hers.

She broke the kiss and looked over at Abraham and Nuala, sitting there looking rather awkward. The look on Nuala's face said that the awkward was only just beginning. "How about you two? You don't mind Red and I getting a little frisky on the ride home, do you?"

Abe fumbled for words and couldn't quite come up with anything. Nuala's awkward expression suddenly seemed to be one of guilt.

Picking up the medical kit, Agent North came over to Nuala and sat beside her on the bench. "May I check you over for any injuries?" he asked, leaning in perhaps a little too closely. "You may also have been hurt in tonight's engagements."

"I'm fine," she insisted.

"May I at least look at you? You're so different...and so exotically beautiful," he said, leaning in even closer.

Abe couldn't understand Agent North's sudden interest in the Elven princess. Until now he'd barely looked at her.

"Perhaps another time. Now...isn't the best," she said diplomatically.

"Are you sure?" He took her hand and began to stroke it. "If there's anything I can do for you... or to you..."

Nuala rose and went to sit on the other side of Abraham, leaving North looking into the fishman's glare. When he rose to pursue, Abe raised a hand to block him. "Agent North, must I remind you that you are behaving inappropriately." Of course Liz was already behaving quite inappropriately on the other bench. Was she really trying to unbuckle Red's pants?

"It's not his fault," said Nuala suddenly. "It's the forest elemental that the demon defeated."

"What? What did I do?" Hellboy choked defensively, his attention turning away from Liz for a moment.

"It's another ability," she said hesitantly. "If the god is defeated, the pollen not only fructifies the garden, it gives us a chance to escape."

"Escape? What does that pollen do?"

"My kind is immune to it, but for most other races, if they come into contact with it, they will be consumed with only thoughts of carnal passion."

"Well that explains a few things," chuckled Hellboy, looking down at Liz fighting with his belt buckle. He'd pushed out his stomach to make it impossible for her to get it undone, but that hadn't deterred her from trying.

"I see," said Abe.

"So that's why Agent Sherman and I are acting this way..." North said, leaning around Abe to gaze again at Nuala, but then his attention was caught by a gasp and a giggle from Liz.

"Whoa, girl!" Hellboy quickly shielded her with his coat, hiding what she was doing.

"And you don't feel it?" North asked the princess.

"No. Not at all."

"That's a shame, because I sure do." He looked again at Liz, but knew she was also unavailable. "What about you, Blue? You feeling it? You were once human."

"Once," he replied "Once, long ago."

Suddenly the garbage truck pulled to the side of the road and parked. "Hey, you guys okay back there?" came the driver's voice over the intercom.

"Yes. All is well," responded Abe with some hesitation.

"Hey, Agent North. You want to drive the truck back? We're making a bit of a stop-off on the way home."

"A stop off?" Three of the passengers in the back tensed. Had they been affected too?

"Yeah. Probably will take about an hour or so."

"For what?" Abe questioned.

"Just need to go get an itch scratched."

They heard the front doors open and close, and looking to the external cameras, Abe and North saw the two agents from up front heading toward a cluster of suggestively dressed women leaning up against the building.

"What! They're getting some hookers?" North stammered. He grabbed his jacket and followed after them.

Abraham sighed, then went around to the front of the truck and took the driver's seat. To his surprise, Nuala followed and took a place in the cab as well.

"Your highness, you don't have to sit here."

"I thought the demon and his companion would like a bit of privacy," she said.

"Oh. I see."

Abe buckled his seatbelt and started up the vehicle again. As much as he liked the pale princess, he had hoped to spend the rest of the drive alone. He'd answered Agent North's question with a non-answer, not wanting to reveal his state. Yes, he was feeling it too, the strange poison in the forest elemental's pollen—not to the same degree as Liz and the other agents were, but he found it there trying desperately to sway his thoughts. His unusual state must be slowing or dampening the effects, but it definitely had a hold of whatever humanity remained in him.

-o-o-o-o-o-

" **The Second Half of the Battle" continues in Chapter 2.**

-o-o-o-o-o-

 _Hellboy_ and all related concepts, characters, worlds, and events are property of artist Mike Mignola. Original characters and story elements are property of E. Potter, writing under the pen name of Miratete.

-o-o-o-o-o-


	2. Chapter 2

**The Second Half of the Battle**

-o-o-o-o-o-

 **Chapter 2**

-o-o-o-o-o-

Given the strange way the mission had ended, and that almost all of the agents on the mission had gone AWOL in search of sex, Manning included, that night's debriefing had been postponed until the next day, giving everyone a chance to recover from the pollen's effects. Liz and Hellboy had barely zipped up and moved off to their room once Abraham had brought the truck in. Krauss, completely immune due to his ethereal nature, was fuming about the laboratories. Manning would have been livid if he weren't already at home trying to convince his wife he loved her and suddenly after three years of near-neglect needed her desperately.

Abe led Princess Nuala to the library quickly, hoping to get her away from the few remaining infected agents for a while. At least this was what he was telling himself. Deeper inside, what he was really thinking was how much he'd like to have her all to himself. "You may stay here," he told her as he gestured to a small door at the far end of the room, hoping desperately that he sounded gracious rather than possessive. "There is a small guest apartment behind that door, and you may go wherever you wish inside the library. I apologize that the apartment is quite small, probably not what you're accustomed to." It had once been Dr. Bruttenholm's apartment when he stayed at headquarters, a workroom attached to a kitchenette and bathroom. The workroom had been converted to a bedroom and was now given to the rare guests of the BPRD.

"Thank you," she said timidly, a smile of gratitude on her face. "I'm sure it will be most comfortable."

"Of course, your highness," he said, and turned away awkwardly. The warmth that had first touched him on the awkward trip home was beginning to surface. "However, if you wish to leave the library, you'll need an escort. I'm usually close by and will be happy to oblige." He pointed to the tank. "Look in there for me."

"In the water?"

"Yes. As you may have guessed I'm quite amphibious."

She smiled and reached for his hand, clasping it in gratitude. "Thank you. I appreciate it."

Abe's head swam. She was touching him, but thankfully she pulled her hand quickly away. And then she fixed him with an intent stare. "You were very brave, vouching for me. How do you know I'm not the enemy?" she suddenly asked. "Bringing me here..."

Abe froze. As much as he wanted to talk with her, to be in her presence, to get to know her, he feared for his condition. Her touch only reminded him that he had been compromised. "It's as you were saying just now, from intuition. Maybe a link." He looked at his hand before him, wriggling his fingers. "Normally I'm able to read others quite quickly, but...I have never met anyone like you."

"Nor I like you," she said softly, a pleased sound, not quite a laugh nor a giggle but one of restrained joy, escaping her. "I should go examine the apartment." She turned away and retreated.

"Let me know if there's anything you require, princess, er, your highness, your majesty, er m'am," he called after her.

Abe breathed an embarrassed sigh of relief as she made her way toward the door he'd indicated.

Fighting urges that suggested that he follow her off to the apartment, he hurried upstairs to the room above his aquarium. Humans appeared quite subject to the poison, but there was no question that it was affecting him as well. He undressed from the collar and tactical jacket he had worn on the mission. Yanking off his shorts and boots, he stepped beneath the shower head at the side of the tank and turned it on. He didn't like soap and usually avoided it, but this occasion called for it. He felt the need to scrub away the chemical, if not magical, contaminant—if that were possible. And he drank as well, hoping that perhaps he could flush it from his systems or perhaps dilute its potency before he succumbed as the others had.

After cleaning himself off thoroughly and putting on a fresh pair of shorts, he dove into the tank and swam about energetically, at least until he caught sight of the princess. She had not remained in the room, but was instead in the library, and she was watching him, the book she had been browsing lying open in her hand. Her thoughts fluttered over to him, followed by the rest of her, and she watched him twist through the water toward the glass.

"You're very interesting," she said softly. "I have seen and met a great many beings in my life, but nothing like you."

Abe pointed at the framed scrap of paper on the wall.

"Ichthys sapiens," she read. And then she looked back at him. "A fish-man?"

"So I seem to be."

Her eyes looked him up and down, so much more of his physique visible in his current state. "But not Atlantean?"

"Not that we know of." He pressed his hands to the glass. "There is a lot about me that we don't know."

Nuala slipped right to the window and pressed her hands against his, and even through the thick glass contact was made. Images of his discovery and what little he knew of himself came forward.

"I see," she said softly. And then their gazes met, her golden eyes staring into the depths of his. "You look different." Her head cocked a little to one side. "It's your eyes. I can see your eyes."

"I've found I need some degree of protection when out on an investigation," he answered. "Hence the clothes and the goggles."

"They're beautiful."

Abe stared. Had she just said that of him?

"Your eyes... not your clothing," she clarified.

Abe jerked his hand away and shoved off of the glass, where he swam to the opposite wall of his aquarium. How could she say something like that? Beautiful? They were just eyes, weren't they?

"Abraham?" Nuala asked after him.

"I'm sorry... I don't know how to take compliments," he said quickly hoping that answer would suffice, and immediately filled the space following with another excuse. "Anyway, I hope you will forgive me if I retire for the night. It's been... an interesting evening."

"Of course. And certainly tomorrow will bring more interesting things about."

She turned and departed from the window, but where she'd gone to, whether into the apartment or deeper into the library he couldn't tell. He'd already swum up to the landing and hauled himself from the water, wrapping himself in a bathsheet before moving into the upper room again.

He collapsed into a chair and grabbed the nearest book, opening it to a random page and trying to read. Perhaps the words would distract him, but it was as if someone had printed meaningless squiggles across the page. And through the serpentine lines he saw the swish of her long cloak, the swing of her veils, the curtain of her flaxen hair, and the look of determination backing up her knife. Touching her hand, at her insistence, had been a moment of revelation to him, a revelation not just of herself, but of his own feelings. Was there really such a thing as love at first sight? He'd always imagined it to be a plot device or a social novelty. Could it actually happen to him?

Abe winced. No. It was that damnable pollen, those glowing bits of something magical that had floated down from the slain god. There was nothing between them. He was only fighting off the effects of the pollen. And he was determined not to give in as Liz and Red had, making a rather embarrassing spectacle of themselves in the back of the truck.

But it wasn't just the pollen. He _had_ been feeling some sort of attraction to her before the forest god had even appeared—long before it had appeared. The accursed pollen was just urging him to act upon those feelings.

And what feelings they were! He'd always known he was attracted to women, but that attraction had never gone anywhere. Yes, there was that Christmas party where a drunken Agent Sathers had kissed him fully on the lips. But then she'd also kissed Red and anyone else she could get her hands on. He'd been so nervous at the time about it, and had then gone home and fixated on that peppermint-scented kiss all night, clinging hard to the sensation so as not to forget it.

The sound of Princess Nuala's voice distracted him from his guarded memories of Agent Sathers. She was reading something aloud downstairs.

He went to the railing and looked down, seeing the beautiful creature sitting before the fireplace. Blue silks spread around her and cornsilk hair lay with such grace over her shoulders. A small book was held open in her hand. He listened for a moment.

Tennyson... she was reading Tennyson aloud. And he recognized the poem as well. And there was nothing he could do to stop himself from descending the spiral staircase.

-o-o-o-o-o-

" **The Second Half of the Battle" continues in Chapter 3.**

-o-o-o-o-o-

 _Hellboy_ and all related concepts, characters, worlds, and events are property of artist Mike Mignola. Original characters and story elements are property of E. Potter, writing under the pen name of Miratete.

-o-o-o-o-o-


	3. Chapter 3

**The Second Half of the Battle**

-o-o-o-o-o-

 **Chapter 3**

-o-o-o-o-o-

 **Author's Note:** Time to put the kids to bed, unless you feel like explaining to them what happens when a fish loves a princess very, very much and someone writes a fanfic about it.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"Tennyson... 'In Memoriam.' A beautiful poem."

She turned with a small gasp at his approach, a look of surprise on her face as if she'd been caught at something she possibly shouldn't be doing, quickly folding the small volume closed and clasping it to her chest.

"Forgive me. I didn't mean to startle you," Abe apologized.

Her eyes dropped in some embarrassment. "I borrowed this book. I.. I hope you don't mind."

Abe quickly gestured about him. "No, no. Please. This is your home now. Please feel free to enjoy anything here, and if you require more, we'll..."

"It is all very comfortable and pleasant," she said, her enigmatic smile once more flickering onto her lips. "I thought you'd gone off to bed."

Abe squirmed. Why again had he come down here? Why was he risking himself like this? And suddenly he panicked when Nuala reached up and placed an elegant hand on his forearm.

"Please don't touch me," Abe gasped. He tried to pull away, but somehow found himself unable to execute more than one step back. "I'm under the effects of that pollen too. I can't shake it, and it's...it's become very difficult to restrain myself," he confessed to her. "Please forgive me. I need to... I can't... " The thoughts refused to connect with the right words.

"I could feel it—when we touched through the glass, and before that even. You're doing remarkably well," she said, her golden eyes fixing on his.

Abe nodded. "I should go...go somewhere. Maybe another swim," he fumbled. "You're very beautiful." And then he felt embarrassed. The words that had just spilled from his lips.

If it were in his physiology to blush, he would have at that point. Or maybe he was blushing. His face felt oddly warm. In fact his whole body was feeling unusually warm again.

The princess smiled and slid her grip down to take his hand, at which Abe gasped again and tried to draw away, but she held tightly. "Abraham. You don't have to go."

Her touch jolted with electricity against his bare skin. "I...I..." he stammered, too many thoughts suddenly locking up in his throat without a one being able to escape.

"You don't have to go," she repeated. "I will help with this."

For a moment he breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps part of her Elven magic or technology or whatever one wanted to call it had some antidote to the pollen. Why hadn't she used it in the truck though? This whole episode would have been so much less embarrassing if she had.

But to his surprise her hand closed tightly on his arm. "Come..." And stepping away on silent feet she led him into the room she'd been given to sleep in, all the while floating smoky images into his head. Images of blue fingers sliding over shimmering skin. Of two mouths breathing in the same air. Of fabric falling away. Of entwining fingers. Of entwining bodies.

She was very serious about helping him, and it was in a way that didn't involve Elven magic or technology.

Abe was too desirous of her to resist any longer. When she'd closed and locked the door behind them, he suddenly seized her in his arms and pressed his face into her flaxen hair, inhaling through the fine strands. "Is this really what you offer? Please say it is, because I don't think I can hold myself back any longer."

"Yes, Abraham. It is." She melted into his embrace. "I meant it when I said that you're like no one else you've met, and I'd like to get closer, to know you better."

"I think I'm unique," he said heavily as his mouth found the delicate skin of her neck and he began to stroke her with his lips.

"I'm intrigued, and a bit`excited," she said. "It's been a long time since I've been with anyone. And never outside of my species."

"I'm probably a poor showing as far as the possibilities go," he whispered between the constant kissing and nuzzling at her neck. Her linen-white skin now had his full attention and he wasn't about to relinquish it. And without letting go he half-dragged, half-carried her to the bed and stretched her out upon it.

From her neck his kisses began to branch out, tirelessly falling on any exposed bit of white, delighting as she began to unfasten her dress and reveal more of her impossibly pale skin. "You're so beautiful," he whispered again, and again, and again, hoping she'd not tire of his situational ineloquence. It wasn't long before she lay naked before him

Abe pulled back and stood there for a moment, looking down at the Elven princess spread invitingly on the bed. For a second, lucidity had his head, and he grasped to comprehend the way the wheel of fortune had turned. The troll market with all of its exotic and fantastic denizens had been more real than this moment. This beautiful moonlight creature, desirable in so many ways, was offering herself to him. That couldn't be real, could it?

But he was ready to test that it was.

Without further hesitation he shucked off his black shorts and found a place for himself between her thighs. "Princess, are you ready for me?"

Nuala closed her eyes as he kissed her warm lips again. "Yes, Abraham. Have me," she whispered with an ancient gentility.

"Thank you," he moaned into her ear. "I want this so badly."

"I know..." At those words, her hands, resting lightly on his shoulders, suddenly gripped him tightly, and within moments he had found his way inside of her, burying himself deeply. He no longer spoke, but simply thrust away, small whimpering noises issuing from his throat.

Nuala held onto his arms as he hovered over her, backlit by the nightlight above the door. She studied him closely, fascinated completely—the way dark stripes wiggled their way across his bald head...the way his breath bounced through both lungs and gills...the way those gills fanned out from his neck, rising and falling in time with the bucking of his hips, fluttering quickly along their edges.

And suddenly he shifted position, arching more sharply above her and balancing on his feet rather than his knees. His breathing quickened and his whimpering grew uneven. There came a tight choking sound and then he collapsed atop her, Nuala realizing that he had come.

She smiled and folded her arms around his back, her fingers exploring the fin-like structures sprouting there while he wheezed and groaned, the fishman somewhat in shock again. Turning her mind to his, she found him an impenetrable jumble of impassioned thought. "Abraham," she whispered, stroking his back softly.

"Nuala...I love you," came the response.

"I'm here for you," she said back. Even if _he_ hadn't meant it, she did.

And through the haze of physical and emotional pleasure came an urgent message into her head, along with a spoken word. "Again!" he told her.

-o-o-o-o-o-

" **The Second Half of the Battle" concludes in Chapter 4.**

-o-o-o-o-o-

 _Hellboy_ and all related concepts, characters, worlds, and events are property of artist Mike Mignola. Original characters and story elements are property of E. Potter, writing under the pen name of Miratete.

-o-o-o-o-o-


	4. Chapter 4

**The Second Half of the Battle**

-o-o-o-o-o-

 **Chapter 4**

-o-o-o-o-o-

Princess Nuala had not been completely sure what to expect of her new lover, the enigmatic fishman that had come seeking her father's map on the same day she herself had sought it out. Fate had to be in play, for it had dropped into her hands but moments before Abraham had appeared asking for it. Surely they were meant to meet over this common goal. And the attraction between them had appeared at first touch, when she had probed him for the truth, only for him to reveal that he had reciprocated.

These were all good signs, which had led to her surprising willingness to help him through the pollen sickness. Surely he was of strong enough will to tough it out, but solving the problem as the red demon and the dark-haired woman did was more enjoyable.

And Abraham did seem to be enjoying it, having given in to awoken desires. He arched above her again now, grunting softly and thrusting into her. The rapid fluttering of his gills signaled that he was once again close to another climax, his third. Perhaps this would be the one to exhaust him.

She had felt the worry within him—the worry that he would not be able to restrain himself, and he certainly hadn't once she had brought him to her loaned bedroom. There had not been any shyness or scholarly reservedness after that point. Instead he had seized her and devoured every dish proffered.

"Nuala," he breathed. "Nuala...I love you."

A smile touched her lips. It had been centuries since anyone had whispered her name that way. "Abraham, I love you too," she whispered back.

A few more thrusts and he was over the edge, his throat tight and wheezing, his gills splayed wide and red against the light glowing over the door, his webbed hands clutching painfully hard around her shoulders.

And then he collapsed atop her, his lithe body trembling and soft moans of satisfaction creeping from his throat. When he regained his senses he kissed her shoulder and relinquished the stranglehold of his hands. "Nuala, I love you," he declared again with a clearer voice, his gills settling back against his neck.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Nuala woke and stretched, and then remembered where she was. She reached out with her hands, but found herself alone. "Abraham?"

There was no answer.

She sat up and looked about. Then grabbing the dressing gown hanging on the back of the bathroom door, she covered herself and stepped into the library. The tranquil blue glow of the aquarium drew her onward and she soon found him, lying asleep on the floor of the tank, his head pillowed by a slender arm.

Nuala crept to the window closest to the fishman and knelt beside it, staring in at him. Her hand went to the glass, and she saw him flash before her eyes, the scene at the map seller's shop at the troll market, her thin knife pressed to his throat, his black gloved hand pressed to hers, his goggled eyes awash with water.

She sighed, but did not reach out for fear of waking him. He must have been completely exhausted by the surrender to the forest elemental's magic.

A few hours later she woke again as Abe returned to her side, the cool skin of his chest pressing against her back as a dampened arm wrapped around her waist. She put her hand atop his as it curled over her stomach. "Abraham," she whispered for the thousandth time that night. Who cared what he thought of his own name. She loved it.

"Princess," he purred back.

"Don't call me that now. We've become too close for you to call me that." She turned over to face him and her lips found his.

Abe kissed back willingly, even lingering and nuzzling against her cheek. "Nuala..." he breathed.

"How are you feeling?" she asked. "Has the pollen worn off yet?"

The hand on her bare skin tensed. "I think so... Yes...about that. I'm feeling a bit embarrassed. Though I'm sure the others will be too." He chuckled awkwardly.

"Don't be. It's not like I didn't know what was going to happen. It was inevitable after the demon defeated the forest elemental in battle." She kissed him again and trailed her fingers over his jawline, tracing his chin and the edges of his gills.

"You've seen it before? What the pollen does?"

"Twice."

"Have you...helped...before?" Suddenly Abe wished that he hadn't opened his mouth. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked that," he apologized quickly.

"No offense taken, but how are you feeling? You didn't answer."

Abe relaxed and sighed. "Worn. I usually am after a mission, but...that one took a lot out of me."

"I think I took a lot out of you," she countered.

His gills flattened tightly for a moment. "I hope you'll forgive me. I wasn't exactly myself."

"And you are now?"

"I can't say I am exactly myself. I'm usually not lying in bed with a beautiful woman."

The princess smiled and brought her hands up to embrace him. He truly was magnificent, his skin a delightful palette of color and pattern so unlike her own. His eyes, when the light caught them, called to mind the depths of a mineral spring. And beneath was a magnificent mind, one that even now was reaching out to her, curling psychically against hers. But instead of pushing back, she stood at the threshold and beckoned him across the lintel. "Abraham? Would you...? Would you consider more than just this night's pleasure?"

"Consider more? This would go beyond... beyond pollen treatment?"

"We were brought together in such strange and terrible circumstances, as if we were meant to be companions in some greater plan. Would you consider staying together? As friends and lovers and emotional intimates?"

He raised himself upon his elbows. "You're everything I could ever want in a companion, if that's what you're offering me now, if you're willing to be a companion to what you see." His fingers fluttered over his gills. "I can't imagine I'm what you would consider 'your type'." His tone slipped toward self-deprecation.

Nuala smiled and drew him close, the golden light of her being enveloping the blue. "There's so much more to you, Abraham, than what you look like. I've needed someone like you for a long time."

"Someone like me?" he questioned.

"Someone to love me for who I am."

"Who wouldn't...? Ah, never mind." He paused, not wanting to disturb the intense bliss they were feeling with deliberative conversation. She was right. Being her certainly couldn't be easy, and loving her couldn't be easy either. "Princess... If you wish it, I'll be here for you."

Again she whispered his name, emphasizing it with a sensuously slow blink of her eyes and punctuating it with a kiss.

Gathering up handfuls of her flaxen hair he kissed it. His sensitive hands stroked over her features, pressing them indelibly into memory. He gazed into her golden eyes—eyes that had seen far too much sorrow. He cupped her breasts into his hands and kissed them lovingly. He murmured Keats and Byron and Shelley into her ears. His memories of the night encouraged and emboldened him, for the pollen had stripped away his inhibitions and heightened his need, leaving them both with every stone turned. Nothing he did would startle or shock her now. It had all happened in three rounds the night before and it seemed as if a fourth might be on the way.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"Hallooooo! Prinzess!" came Johann's voice as he pushed the door open. "Goot morning!"

Johann froze, staring at the pair in the bed staring back at him, who were staring back looking rather guilty.

"I trust you had a goot night's zleep, Prinzess." he chuckled. "Und you too," he said, nodding to Abe.

"Ah, yes. Thank you," she said, her pale cheeks darkening.

"Hmmm...Golt und blue look goot togehzer. Ah, but I digress. Dere is a meeting of eferyone in haff an hour. I am zent to let you know zince you haf not appeared."

"Yes, thank you," she said shyly. 

"At your zervice," Johann said with a little bow. "Haf an hour, please."

Abe moaned as Krauss left. He'd forgotten to lock the door when he'd returned from his tank. Not that locked doors meant much to Johann; but still, it might have spared them some embarrassment. "Well, I guess we're a couple now. Within five minutes I suppose everyone in the BPRD will know about us."

"He'd tell?"

"I'm not sure. He's new here and I don't really know him yet. I'm not going to assume he won't."

"Would that be bad? I don't know how things are around here." She clutched at the covers.

Abe paused. "You know, it's not that bad. I'm just not used to being thought of as being in a relationship. Or even of being interested in a romantic relationship." And then he stopped and blinked at her. "If...if you'll still have me. I know we said a lot of very personal things to each other through the night. I don't want us to live in regret of any promises made. And while maybe I was a bit overwhelmed and a bit incapacitated, every word I said was spoken from my heart with complete honesty."

She seized his hand. "I don't want to leave you, Abraham. I want you. I need you... someone like you who cares about me beyond...beyond a... Someone who loves me in spite of everything—my title, the precariousness of my situation, my species."

"You really would have me then?"

She wrapped her arms around him and held him closely. "I found feelings for you the first time we touched."

The eyes like mineral springs blinked, and he leaned in to kiss her once more. "It's mutual."

-o-o-o-o-o-

At the meeting things were on the awkward side as expected. There was a lot of eye-contact not being made. Most everyone looked guilty or embarrassed to some degree. And Red would have been rather sheepish around Blue, were it not for the fact that he was desperate to ask if what Johann had reported was true. Thankfully Red for once had the tact to ask when Nuala was off talking with Manning afterwards.

Liz had her own congratulations. "Just be careful. I didn't think anything would happen to me, but turns out I was wrong," she said quietly, a hand slipping furtively over her stomach. Her secret was still hers and Abe's alone. And she slipped away before Abe could respond.

Abe glanced over at the princess and as much of a smile that could manifest on his stiff lips did so. Perhaps things had started out in a very strange manner for them, but he wouldn't exchange it for all the pretty words and perfect courtship rituals in the world.

-o-o-o-o-o-

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 **The End**

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 _Hellboy_ and all related concepts, characters, worlds, and events are property of artist Mike Mignola. Original characters and story elements are property of E. Potter, writing under the pen name of Miratete.

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